Page "War elephant" Paragraph 11

In the Southeast Asia, the powerful Khmer Empire had come to regional dominance by the 9th century AD, drawing heavily on the use of war elephants.

Uniquely, the Khmer military deployed double cross-bows on the top of their elephants.

With the collapse of Khmer power in the 15th century, the successor region powers of Burma ( now Myanmar ) and Siam ( now Thailand ) also adopted the widespread use of war elephants.

In many battles of the period it was the practice for leaders to fight each other personally on elephants.

One famous battle occurred when the Burmese army attacked Siam's Kingdom of Ayutthaya.

The war was concluded when the Burmese crown prince Minchit Sra was killed by Siamese King Naresuan in personal combat on elephant in 1593.